#+TITLE: Dragora, a Philosophy of Life

#+BEGIN_PREVIEW
As many of my friends and family know, I volunteer for the [[http://dragora.org/repo.fsl/doc/trunk/www/index.md][Dragora Project]], an
independent fully-free GNU/Linux distribution. Dragora is a very important part
of my life because it opened up a new way of thought for me. Not just in my
computing life but also in my day-to-day life. This new way of thought is fairly
interesting and something that I find quite valuable.


Dragora as a concept comes in 4 parts: freedom, independence, community,
simplicity. Each of these parts are valid concepts in computing but also in
personal life, as I've found out. Let's unpack.
#+END_PREVIEW


/Freedom/:
As mentioned in my brief descriptor of Dragora, it is a /fully-free/
GNU/Linux distribution. What does that /really/ mean? Well, it has a couple
meanings. Firstly, it means that the [[https://fsf.org][Free Software Foundation]](FSF) has deemed
Dragora a [[https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html][fully-free distro]]. This title means that the distro doesn't contain
/any/ non-free software or kernel modules or drivers. However, it also means
that their package repo also contains no non-free software /and/ that they don't
support[fn:1] any non-free software. What this means, in a nut shell, you have
all the freedom. Secondly, this means you have the most control over your
system. Since all the software is free, you are able to control it all - which
is great!


That's fantastic and all, but why does this matter? Well, this is important
because you know that the software you are running isn't controlling you or
mistreating you. If you have the hunch that it is mistreating you, you can
easily look at the source and find out for yourself!

Okay, okay, how does this apply to personal life? This is fairly easy to explain
so I'll be brief. Firstly, freedom is good. You want freedom! No one wants to be
controlled! Having full control over your life is good too. It's your life, you
control it. That's it. Pretty obvious, isn't it?


/Independence/:
This is another easy one - Dragora not being based from any other
GNU/Linux distro means that it is an /independent/ distro. This allows us to
control what version of a software we have and when we want it! We get to pick
what the direction of the project is, not someone else. Independence from a
specific company is also good because if the company goes in a specific
direction that you don't like, you don't have to go with it! Free software tends
to give you independence and allows you to decide what /you/ want to run!


Much like freedom, independence is very easy to apply to your life. If you
constantly have to rely on a person (or persons) or company, you are at their
will. Thus, it is important to have independence from them. Granted that /some/
reliance is needed such as in a marriage or in a community but it is a good idea
to be able to exist on your own and survive like that too!


/Community/:
Dragora is very serious when it comes to community. The community
isn't very big, maybe 30 people at the most, but we are a strong one! Together
we are the backbone and nerve system of a great distro. We keep the community
alive on the freenode #dragora IRC. The community helps users on the channel,
build packages, hack solutions, and help with Dragora itself. Without the
community, Dragora would be nothing!

Community is also extremely important for personal life too. I've found out that
having a community that keeps you accountable is incredibly useful. Having
people to bounce ideas off of and give you criticism when you need it - it's all
great stuff to have! I have, for the past year, dove head first into community
with my church and it has been amazing to see how I've grown, having people
around me that care for me, guide me, and enjoy life with me.


/Simplicity/:
Before we can talk about simplicity we first have to define what
"simplicity" is. A lot of people will get simplicity confused with
ease-of-use. These are two fundamentally different concepts - one dealing with
complexity and the other with amount of skill needed. An analogy that I read on
reddit a while ago goes something like this:

Imagine you have 2 cars: one standard (stick-shift) and one automatic. The
standard car requires more skill and knowledge to operate than the automatic
one. What this means is the automatic car is /easy to use/. If we look at the
mechanics of the cars, you would find that the standard car would have a far
simpler system, consisting of less special technology in order to predict when
to shift gears. The automatic car would be far more complex in order to do just
that. Therefore, the standard car, although harder to use, is simpler than the
automatic.

A key point to get out of that analogy is that the simple option isn't always
the easiest option! However, when things go wrong with a simple system, they are
easier to fix than a complex one. This is an important concept for computing
because things break all the time! When you need to get into to fix things, it's
much better to have a bunch of simple programs to deal with.


Applying this to life isn't easy but it sure is helpful! I have found that
keeping things simple in my life has made me more relaxed, less stressed, more
caring for others, happier, etc. I don't really have any advice as to /how/ to
make a simple life but I believe it starts with minimizing the amount of
social media surfing you do. If you're on all the major social medias, maybe
consider putting a few down. What this will do is take your mind off of everyone
else and wanting to tell everyone else what you're doing. It's totally okay to
mind your own business! Once you get that down, I recommend trying to keep
friendships personal and not just text or message the person. Call them or go
hang out with them on a regular basis. Don't play on your phone. Just enjoy your
surroundings and the company. From there, the rest is natural and you'll be
living a simpler life in no time!


My explanation may have made no sense - that's okay! Just keep those ideas in
your head: freedom, independence, community, simplicity. Keeping those on the
mind will help you look at situations through their lens, granting you the
ability to apply them. In the end, these concepts have helped me out a great
deal and I'm a huge fan. Dragora is not only my favorite GNU/Linux distro but
also one of my favorite concepts!

* Footnotes

[fn:1] By "support" I mean that they don't have packages built for non-free
software nor will any volunteer help with the installation of non-free software
on the project's areas (IRC, website, etc.). If you do, however, need non-free
software you are still free to install it yourself or have a volunteer help you
on a private chat or site.
